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Marijuana advocates face hurdles as Wisconsin eyes legalization

Madison resident Gary Storck inhales marijuana from a vaporizer in his apartment March 20. Storck favors Gov. Tony Evers’ proposals to legalize cannabis for medical use and to decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)
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Gov. Tony Evers has proposed decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, legalizing cannabis for medical uses and expungement for past marijuana possession convictions. Here, he greets members of the Assembly and Senate after giving his first State of the State address in Madison at the State Capitol on Jan. 22. (Emily Hamer / Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)
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About this series

"The Cannabis Question" is a series by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism exploring questions about proposals to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin. This is the first installment. Additional stories will be published throughout the year.

For decades, Storck, a longtime medical marijuana advocate from Madison, has been pushing the state Legislature to legalize his medicine. Storck suffers from glaucoma. He uses cannabis to slow progression of the disease, which is gradually robbing him of his sight.

The first big moment was in 2002, when statewide polling found that 80.3 percent of Wisconsinites supported medical marijuana. Storck was ecstatic. When he first heard the numbers, "I jumped in the air about a foot, I think. I was so happy to see that level of support."

Storck was convinced that this would be the moment to finally legalize medical marijuana. Volunteers from Is My Medicine Legal Yet?, a group that Storck co-founded, placed copies of the polling results in every office at the State Capitol.

"We thought, they see this, they're going to pass it," Storck said. "Well, it didn't happen." A bipartisan bill sponsored by former Republican Rep. Gregg Underheim of Oshkosh did not make it out of committee.

In 2009, Wisconsin Democrats swept into power and took control of the governor's office, the Assembly and the Senate. Medical marijuana was back on the table, with help from politicians including Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point. Political support seemed to be on the upswing.

Fifty-five people spoke in favor of the bill; another 49 registered in favor. Five people spoke against it.

"It seemed like the stars had aligned for us," Storck said.

Medical marijuana legal in 33 states

While Wisconsin's laws on marijuana have stayed largely the same — and federal law continues to ban use and sales — bordering states have begun to move on the issue. Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have all legalized medical marijuana, with Michigan also legalizing recreational use in 2018.

Overall, the medical use of cannabis is legal in 33 states, along with the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories. Recreational use is legal in 10 of those states plus D.C. A legalization push in New Jersey, which is controlled by Democrats, recently failed after lawmakers could not reach consensus.

If Illinois were to legalize recreational marijuana — which newly elected Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker lists as one of his top priorities — Wisconsin residents could drive a short distance for an over-the-counter purchase. With such easy access, Storck said, "I don't know how long prohibition can last."

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has announced proposals to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin, decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug, allow expungement for possession charges and update state laws governing cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating over-the-counter treatment for anxiety, seizures and inflammation.

Evers also has said he would consider legalization of recreational use if voters approved it in a statewide referendum.

Support for legalization grows

Evers' proposals have been lauded by Democratic state legislators — and even some top law enforcement officials — who have seen support for legalization grow in Wisconsin in recent years. In January, a Marquette Law School Poll found that 58 percent of Wisconsinites believe marijuana should be legalized and regulated like alcohol, with 36 percent opposed.

In November, local advisory-only referendums in support of marijuana legalization were passed in large numbers across the state, including 16 counties and two cities. Whether the question was about medical or recreational marijuana, no measure passed with less than 60 percent support, and no measure was rejected.

Evers' plan could help standardize marijuana enforcement in the state.

A first offense for possession can be charged as a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Subsequent offenses can be charged as a felony and carry a maximum penalty of 3.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

GOP leaders not on board

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, opposes most of Evers' plan.

The governor's proposal "makes it easier to get recreational marijuana and provides a pathway to full legalization, which I do not support. I'm open to medical marijuana when it's prescribed by a doctor but it has to be done in a targeted way without allowing recreational use," Vos said in a statement.

In an email, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, reiterated his previous positions in opposition of legalization. Fitzgerald also has been quoted as saying he does not believe that there is enough support within the Republican-controlled Senate for movement on the proposals.

And there are groups, including Smart Approaches to Marijuana, that would likely mobilize if Wisconsin proposes legalizing the drug for recreational use. SAM spokesman Colton Grace said the group pushes for alternatives in states considering legalization, including allowing medicinal uses as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

An important provision of the proposals is the legalization of medical marijuana, which Evers says was influenced by his experience as a cancer patient. Evers beat esophageal cancer about 10 years ago. Some cancer patients use marijuana to combat nausea from chemotherapy and to curb cancer pain.

Alan Robinson, executive director of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said he uses cannabis to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and post-traumatic stress order (PTSD), which he developed after the drug overdose death of a close friend.

"It wasn't until a friend urged me to smoke weed that I began to feel some relief," said Robinson, who sports dress socks featuring marijuana leaves. "This was the first time that I had slept the whole night through in years, and it was life-changing."

Currently, the FDA has approved only one drug, Epidiolex, that contains an active component of marijuana. Epidiolex is used to treat seizures related to two rare syndromes. Three other FDA-approved drugs, Marinol, Syndros and Cesamet, contain synthetically derived components.

Legalization has popular support

Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, says she has never used marijuana. But Sargent has become the face of marijuana legalization in the past three legislative sessions. She has introduced legalization bills after hearing stories of the medical benefits that constituents have experienced and the negative consequences of marijuana-related arrests and convictions.

"I very quickly realized that the most dangerous thing about marijuana in Wisconsin was that it was illegal," Sargent said.

This year, Sargent is working on a new bill that she said will go beyond Evers' proposals and call for full legalization for both medical and recreational marijuana. As with Evers' plan, Sargent's bill would also allow nonviolent offenders to wipe marijuana-related possession convictions from their records "in ways that they currently cannot."

When asked what he would say to lawmakers in Wisconsin in a 1-minute pitch for legalization, Robinson responded: "I would definitely try to impress on them that cannabis is likely more popular in their district than they are."

This story was produced as part of an investigative reporting class in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication under the direction of Dee J. Hall, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism's managing editor.

The Center's collaborations with journalism students are funded in part by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment at UW-Madison. The nonprofit Center (WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.